City pols rewriting records : Wiki-sneaks ‘fix’ their pages
From The New York Post :
Wikipedia entries for some of the candidates running for mayor next year are being re-written — by aides to those candidates.
The biography of Public Advocate Bill de Blasio used to report that he was born Warren Wilhelm.
On May 8, however, a de Blasio staffer removed that name and replaced it with word that he is of “German-American and Italian-American heritage.”
“Of course, we update the page,” said de Blasio spokesman Wiley Norvell unapologetically. “That’s become standard practice for public officials.”
The public advocate has said that he began phasing out the use of his given name while in high school because he was raised by his mother’s family. It’s not a secret, but most voters aren’t aware of the story and presume a guy named de Blasio has to be Italian.
The changes were made by what could be deemed to be a "sock puppet account."
But as much as there were public relations aspects to the changes made to Mr. De Blasio's Wikipedia page, his pages does not bear the "neutral point of view" badge of shame (screen shot at right) that hangs over New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn's page.
